Pineapple Princesses began as a tribute to Ruby Borrowdale, the home economist behind the 'Golden Circle Tropical Recipe Book' tested in the Golden Circle kitchen and modified and updated in the Pineapple Princesses' test kitchens.
As Ruby said "pineapple is a versatile food" . . .
no fat, high in vitamin C and full of the flavour of Queensland sunshine. The blog continues as more and more pineapple recipes are discovered from around the world.

Put butter and sugar into a saucepan and stir over low
heat until the butter has melted. Stir the lemon peel and juice into the butter
and continue simmering for 1 minute.

Peel the bananas and slice thinly. Stir into the sugar
mixture. Warm through for 2 minutes, then remove from heat and stir in
pineapple juice (or rum). Turn into a warm serving bowl. To serve, decorate
with lemon twists and lemon peel strips.

Keep crêpes warm while preparing filling. Put pork and
lard into a saucepan and fry over low heat for 10 minutes, until meat is tender
and cooked through.

Drain pineapple, and put syrup into a pan with redcurrant
jelly, sugar, vinegar, cornflour and tomato juice, then bring to the boil,
stirring constantly. Simmer uncovered, until thick, then stir pork and
pineapple pieces and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 190°C. Divide pork mixture between crêpes.
Roll up and put in a single layer in a shallow ovenproof serving dish. Cover crêpes
with foil and heat through in the oven for 20 minutes. Garnish with watercress
sprigs or bean sprouts and spring onion tassels and serve hot, straight from
the dish.

In a bowl, beat egg yolks and sugar until thick, pale and
creamy. Whisk egg whites to stiff peaks and fold into yolks.

Put butter into a 17.5cm omelette pan and melt over
moderate heat, pour in egg mixture and lightly level the surface. Cook over low
heat until bottom is set and pale golden-brown, then put omelette under medium
grill until top is lightly browned.

Mix
together meat, cheese, parsley, chutney and salt. Form into bite-size balls.
Toss in coconut until well coated and arrange on a buttered oven tray.

Bake
at 200C for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned.

Serve
hot, piled into a bread basket lined with a paper table napkin or cold arranged
on a platter and garnished with thin slices of cucumber and small wedges of red
capsicum or pineapple skewered on toothpicks into the meatballs. Makes
approximately 30.

Wednesday, 9 September 2015

This is easily one of the most delicious desserts I have ever made - don't be put off by the lengthy instructions, it's not difficult at all, Anne.Foods
of the World: Latin American Cooking by Jonathan Norton Leonard, photographs by
Milton Greene, Time-Life Books 1970

To line a 1.5 litre metal or china mould with caramel, it
is necessary to work quickly. Remember in handling the caramel that its
temperature will be over 150°C, so be extremely careful with it.

Place the
mould on a large strip of waxed paper. Then, in a small, heavy saucepan or
frying pan, bring the sugar and water to the boil over a high heat, stirring until
the sugar dissolves. Boil the syrup over a moderate heat, gripping a pot holder
in each hand and gently tipping the pan to and fro almost constantly, until the
syrup turns a rich, golden, tea-like brown. This may take 10 minutes or more.
As soon as the syrup reaches the right colour, remove the pan from the heat and
carefully pour the caramel syrup all at once into the mould. Still using the
pot holders, tip and swirl the mould to coat the bottom and sides as evenly as
possible. When the syrup stops moving, turn the mould upside down on the
greaseproof paper to drain and cool.

Preheat the oven to 170°C. Beat the eggs and egg yolks
with a balloon whisk or a rotary egg beater in a large mixing bowl until they
thicken and turn a light yellow. Gradually pour in the condensed milk,
pineapple juice and sugar, and beat until all the ingredients are well blended.
Strain through a fine sieve into the caramel-lined mould, and place the mould
in a large pan on the middle shelf of the oven.

Pour enough boiling water into the pan to come half-way
up the sides of the mould. Bake the custard for about 1 hour, until a knife
inserted in the centre of the custard comes out clean. Remove the mould from
the water, let it cool to room temperature, then refrigerate the custard for at
least 3 hours, until thoroughly chilled.

When ready to serve, run a sharp knife around the sides,
and dip the bottom of the mould briefly in hot water. Place a chilled serving
plate upside down over the mould and, grasping mould and plate together firmly,
quickly turn them over. Rap the plate on a table and the custard should slide easily
out of the mould. Pour any extra caramel remaining in the mould over the
custard.

“A Matchless Bounty of Tropical Fruits: Every Latin
American cuisine, and in particular that of Mexico, features a year-round
abundance of wonderful fruit. In the markets of most countries there is an
endless display of fruits big and small, of every colour and almost every
shape.”

“Pineapples were cultivated by Pre-Columbian Indians in
the Caribbean region, and sometimes the thorny, sharp-pointed plants were
massed around their villages like barbed-wire entanglements to ward off
intruders. . . None of the forms in which pineapples reach their markets in
temperate countries gives a true idea of what they are like in their native
tropics. Canned pineapple tastes canned, and even frozen pineapple is not like
the real thing. . . A prime pineapple ripened on the plant is in a wholly
different class. In Mexico pineapples as big as footballs sell for a shilling
or less, and they are so fragrant that one of them perfumes an entire room.”

“With sugar so abundant, it is no wonder that the Latin
Americans candy almost everything. Candied fruits are cheap and plentiful in
the markets, including some kinds that are hard to identify. . . Closely
related to candied fruits are the delightful fruit pastes that are found almost
everywhere in Latin America. They usually contain nothing but fruit pulp and
sugar and can be made semi-solid like thick jam or stiff enough to be cut with
a knife. All kinds of available fruit are used.”Jonathan Norton
Leonard

Turn out onto a paper thickly sprinkled with powdered
sugar and spread with the pineapple. Trim off the crusty edges with a sharp
knife and roll up like a jelly roll. A strip of paper or cloth may be pinned
around it until it cools to keep it in shape. Serve cut in slices.

Make sure that you don’t overcook the cake or you won’t
be able to roll it up!